Best CRM for Architects: 3 Top Choices

Customer Relationship Management for Architects

Customer relationship management, commonly referred to as a CRM, is technology to manage all information and activity involving your current customers and potential clients. If your CRM is not contributing to increased sales and revenue, improved client relationships and reduced operational costs, it’s time for you to evaluate some different options. 

There are a ton of CRMs out there, with Salesforce leading the pack, but just because a solution is the most widely used does not mean it’s necessarily the best or most feasible solution for your architecture business. Each business and industry has unique needs, and it’s important to be clear on what those are before making a determination on a solution. 

Let’s explore a few of the top architecture CRMs and their key features and benefits.  

Top 3 Architecture CRMs

1. Accelo
2. Unanet CRM
3. Project-SalesAchiever

Accelo

Accelo is a complete cloud-based client work management platform built for architects and others in professional services. The platform focuses on boosting productivity and profitability by improving visibility, establishing processes and automating tasks. Accelo goes beyond client relationship management — the platform manages all aspects of client work, from sales, quoting and billing to project management, client requests and retainer management. 

Accelo's project view highlights tasks and milestones, project progress and earned value

Accelo products can be selected based on needs and users. Products include:

• Sales
• Projects
• Tickets
• Retainers
• Billing 
• Reports

Highlights:

• Built for client work with smart automations around things like budget management and contract management to allow your team to focus on clients and customer satisfaction
• Pipeline management, including automations to move contacts through sales cycle and clear insights on most profitable opportunities
• Automatic email and calendar sync to track every interaction and sync with client record
• A client portal to allow clients to access controlled information like project status or billing and invoicing information

Unanet

Unanet CRM offers a comprehensive cloud-based CRM built specifically for architecture, engineering and construction industries, or AEC. The platform supports business development and marketers to grow revenue and increase profits with better client management. Collect, track and report on valuable client data for exceptional CRM and proposal automation.

Highlights:

• Contact creation on the go with business card scan and company pages and LinkedIn profiles stored for better contact management
• Automatic call logs recording and ability to create a meeting plan straight from your contacts
• Insight into which of your offices are working together to land an opportunity
• Spreadsheet-like interfaces for easy use in viewing reports

Project-SalesAchiever CRM

Project-SalesAchiever® CRM is used by architects along with construction companies, general contractors and engineers looking to better manage client relationships and win more business. The system advises businesses in architecture and construction industries on sales and marketing initiatives ranging from specification sales and marketing to managing and understanding project lead data. 

Highlights:

• Useful tool for front-end users due to its simplicity 
• Features for marketing activities and email marketing, ideal for marketing departments
• Custom integration to control the level and nature of integrations between systems
• Complimentary with Microsoft Power BI to better enrich data and provide visual, interactive insights 

The Benefits of a CRM for Architects

Being in a client-centric business, architecture firms inevitably benefit from having a proper CRM in place. The right platform will give real-time access to crucial client information and allow you to better manage client relationships and communications within your own organization. 

When exploring different solutions, it’s important to be clear on your unique needs and what key features and capabilities would be essential for your client relationships. 

Projects and Tasks

To start, most of your work centers on projects, and you gain and retain clients based on those projects, so either a CRM that easily integrates with your current project management software or with its own comprehensive project management tool would be essential. 

It’s important that you can easily manage all tasks associated with a client project and track all of the activity and communication associated with each task. Having project data and history visible under a client record within the CRM makes any system much more useful and efficient. Having that holistic view makes it easier to stay knowledgeable on each individual client and makes for smoother interactions. 

Configurations and Integrations

Another factor would be what configurations you need and how easy this is to achieve in the platforms that you are exploring. You want to make sure that your CRM supports your current business model while also keeping in mind future growth and scalability. 

This could be things like the ability to set up unique fields or design your own workflows to capture the information you need. Then, you want to ensure you have a process in place. At a minimum, you should find out what built-in native tools exist within the system that allow for features and functionality to be configured without the need for any coding or development. An effective CRM supports your evolving business model and makes it easy for your team to make adjustments as processes and operations change. 

Also, if you have existing critical business applications that will still be necessary when using a new CRM, then you need to be fully aware of available integrations. Many platforms integrate with commonly used applications. If you have a unique need, say needing to connect with an accounting or financial management solution, then you should check with a rep to verify that they offer that integration or can connect through an API.

Automations and User Experience

Automations are another way to ensure tasks are completed and processes are followed. You might not have a laundry list of automations that you need within a CRM, but it’s worth talking to experts at different platforms to see what each is capable of. An example of this might be the system’s ability to qualify new leads and automatically start qualified leads into the appropriate sales process. Client work management platform Accelo does this and shows the probability for a lead to close based on established factors and historical data. 

Other platforms offer unique automations as well, some you might not have even thought of. It’s worth booking a demo to learn what automations exist rather than trying to research on your own. If the platform specializes in client work and is used by architecture firms, the rep should be able to explain its specialized automations. Having the right automations in place will vastly improve the user experience of working within the CRM, creating less manual work and established processes. 

Ultimately, It’s About Client Relationships

Choosing the best platform is ultimately about figuring out what’s best for managing YOUR client relationships. Your needs might not be cookie cutter or after doing some research, you might realize that you need more than a basic CRM. Your best bet is to explore different platforms that are used by those within your industry and focus on client work. You might ask clients or do research on peer review sites like G2.

Once you have your shortlist, see the systems for yourself. Client work management platform Accelo offers a free demo and continuously ranks #1 in customer satisfaction for professional services automation.

About the Author

Stephani is Director of Content and Communications at Accelo where she oversees content ideation and development. She has worked in and around B2B technology for most of her career and loves helping businesses be more productive, connected and efficient through new technologies. A veteran writer and content creator, Stephani's work has appeared in InformationWeek, Security Magazine, TechRadar and The Fast Mode.